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Bern
Bern was the leader of Chieftain Anoltis' Gifter soldiers. History ''The Golden Door'' When two prisoners were freed from Chieftain Anoltis' fortress by rebels, Bern was sent to Fleet with a group of Gifters to find replacements for the second Gifting at Midsummer Eve. In the courtyard garden of the Gifters was met by a man of Fleet named Nanion, who defiantly asked the Gifters why they had come to the town again. Bern told Nanion that the prisoners had been freed from the Fortress. He reminded Nanion that the blood of seven is required for the Gifting and that the prisoners must be replaced. Nanion taunted the Bern and the Gifters, saying that they could take the prisoners' place. He said that there was nothing they would not do for their master and that they buy their lives with the lives of others. Angered Bern ordered Nanion to be silent. Nanion claimed that there were nobody left in Fleet who would suit Anoltis' evil purpose. Bern showed a note to Nanion which contained a message from a girl named Faene to her lover Dirk. One of the rebels who had helped free the prisoners in the fortress had stayed to fight while the others escaped. The rebel had his coat torn off in the struggle before he managed to escape, and the note had been found in its pocket. Nanion claimed that it must be years old, when the paper was clearly crisp and white. In the middle of the courtyard garden stood a bell tree and beneath it lied a stone slab with a gravestone on its head which had words carved into it: "Here lies Ethena & Juste D'Or. Chiefs of Fleet. Cruelly slain on this spot while defending their people. And their beloved Faene who died of fever in her eighteenth year." Bern asked how a girl who had been dead for half a year would be able to write to her lover so recently. The part on the gravestone about Faene was newer than the rest of the text and Bern deduced that it was a false grave. He ordered two of his Gifters to open the grave and they fired red beams from their scorches at the gravestone, and pushed the slab away to reveal Faene and the girl Sonia hiding inside the false grave. The two Gifters fired yellow beams at the females, paralyzing them. Nanion furiously lunged forward, but Bern was quick enough to draw his scorch club and paralyze Nanion. One of the Gifters told Bern that he should have used the blue killing beam on Nanion, but Bern said that there would be time for it after Midsummer Eve, threatening to first burn Fleet to the ground, turn its people to beggars and steal their horses horses for Chieftain Anoltis. Bern was very thrilled when he saw that Sonia sported red hair, because red hair was rarely seen and was considered a sign of special power since the Fellan have red hair. Bern and his Gifters then left Fleet with their prisoners and headed to Oltan. When Bern had returned to Fleet and delivered the two prisoners, Anoltis, who suspected a traitor in his service was helping the rebels, tasked Bern with replacing every regular soldier who guarded the fortress with a Gifter while the Gifting Ceremony was taking place. Anoltis had devised a plan to capture the rebels. Seven Gifters brought the prisoners from the holding pit up to his chamber. Then they took the prisoner's place in the pit and Anoltis magically disguised them as the prisoners they had replaced. A group of Gifters with no knowledge of the plan were then ordered to guard the pit. Bern was summoned by Anoltis when the chieftain had felt a presence outside his chamber. Bern assured him that there was no one outside, but Anoltis insisted that he had felt someone. The presence that Anoltis had felt was Rye, who was sitting outside the room and watching them with the help of a magic crystal that gave him the ability to see through walls and Bern had not noticed Rye because he was that he was wearing a magic hood that made him invisible. Anoltis was seated on the coiled body of a dead silver sea serpent, preserved by Anoltis' magic. Above the body towered the serpent's snarling head crowned with spikes. Silver serpent scales were scattered on the floor. Occasionally more scales dropped from the serpent throne and onto the floor as Anoltis' strength were ebbing. Not far beyond Bern and Anoltis the seven prisoners for the Gifting lay in line, floating a hand's breadth above the floor, suspended in the air by Anoltis' magic. Three of the figures were male, and four, two of which were Sonia and Faene, were female. Bern suggested that Anoltis might have felt Faene and Sonia waking from their paralysis. Bern asked if he should give them a second scorching. Anoltis accused Bern of being too free with his scorch and noted that his eagerness had damaged one of the sacrifices, a little girl black-haired girl with tiny crooked teeth. The girl's hair was dull and lifeless and her eyes were veined with blue. Bern was starting to show fear as he explained that they had to shoot the girl a second time because she tried to escape when they removed her from the holding pit, but Anoltis claimed that she had been too heavily scorched when they first captured her. Bern explained to his master that she had been hiding inside a goat house, and that several scorch beams meant for the animals hit her instead. He apologized for the error and assured his master that the men responsible would be punished. Anoltis told Bern that the girl was not worth taking in the first place. He said that she was a miserable specimen, was ill bred and undergrown and added that with her heart strained from scorching she would be of little use to him. He told Bern that if there was time he would have demanded a replacement, which made Bern worry, however Anoltis claimed that the two new prisoners he had brought from Fleet would make up for the weakness of the girl, especially Sonia whom the chieftain noted was very strong. Anoltis did note that it was strange that they had not discovered her before now. Anoltis insited that he could feel a presence and ordered Bern to look outside again. He obeyed his master, then assured him that there was no one outside. Bern told Anoltis that he should go, noting that controlling the prisoners, while holding the disguise spell over the decoys in the holding pit was draining his master's strength. Anoltis expressed that the plan must be kept secret, and Bern assured him that only themselves and the seven Gifters who had replaced the prisoners knew of the plan. He told his master that the Gifters guarding the pit thought that the decoys were what they seemed, and that if they did die fighting the rebels they could do without them since the decoys were his best men and they were fully armed. Satisfied Anoltis allowed Bern to go. The leader of the Gifters quickly backed out of the chamber, keeping his head low until the iron door had shut behind him. He straightened, but he was strained and sweating from the audience with his master. Bern hurried down the steps to the main hall leading out into the courtyard. Unbeknownst to Bern Rye followed behind Bern. Bern had trodden out some of the sea serpent scales from Anoltis' chamber and one of the shiny discs became wedged into the sole of one of Rye's boots. Bern took another stairwell that lead down to the dungeons and the holding pit. Bern was in a gallery that overlooked the stone holding pit. The pit was ringed with blazing torches and Gifter guards lay on the floor around the pit, rendered unconscious by rebels. Bern stood hidden in shadows, smiling as he waited for the rebels to reach the bottom of the pit by using ropes secured above with iron spikes. Below in the pit the Gifters magically disguised as prisoners were waiting. The figures below seemed to waver, as if seen through a mist, but the rebels did not notice it. The disguise spell was dropped the moment the rebels' feet hit the bottom of the pit. The Gifters drew their scorches and fired yellow and blue beams at the shocked rebels, which included the man named Dirk. The rebels fell on the ground. Relieved Bern leaned back against the wall of the gallery and laughed. Suddenly someone cried next to Bern. Shocked he spun around with his scorch in his hand. He fired blue beams wildly at where the sound had come from, but he hit the wall. There was no one to be seen. During the struggle the Gifters in the pit had managed to capture Dirk. To punish him, Anoltis freed the little black-haired girl and put Dirk in her place. On Midsummer Eve the Gifters were to guard Oltan's bay where the Gifting would take place. The fortress were situated just across from the bay which was lined with a recently built metal fence and beyond it stood the citizens of Oltan. A wooden walkway that had also been recently build stretched from the fortress to a square viewing platform just above the beach, then ran on, sloping more steeply, to the top of a flat-topped rock. Iron rings were hammered into the flat rock. A great bell had begun to toll, calling the citizens to the Gifting. The Gifters had lined the walkway on both sides, all the way down to the rock. The torches set around the walkway burst into life. Bern stepped out of the courtyard with his helmet under his arm, stood aside and held his head high. Anoltis on his sea serpent throne came gliding out of the courtyard, floating a hand's breadth above the ground. The serpent were mottled with black where its scales had fallen off. Anoltis looked was shrivelled and blotched which made him look like a corpse. The chieftain jerked his head and glared out at the crowd. A small child screamed in terror at the ghastly face, but Bern quickly signaled to the Gifters who began to cheer, drowning the child's scream. The crowd behind the fence followed the Gifters' example and roared, waving their flags. The people behind the crowd, who were not as trusting in the chieftain, cheered too out of fear. Bern and Anoltis had reached the platform. The chieftain was still seated on his throne which faced the rock, and Bern stood at his side with a dagger in his hand. Behind them seven Gifters were exited the fortress gates looking proud, each one leading a prisoner in chains. Sonia was the first in line and Faene was the second to last, and Dirk made up the rear. On the platform the prisoners were forced to kneel in a semi-circle before Anoltis' throne. Dirk was feebly resisting being pushed down. Anoltis bared his teeth and flicked a finger at Dirk whose body jerked and sank to the ground. Bern looked over the prisoners with his dagger held. He then slashed down the dagger and the sound of the bell ended. The crowd behind the fence became silent as well. Bern addressed the citizens and welcomed them to the Gifting. Bern spoke highly of Chieftain Anoltis and claimed that his master grieves that he must sacrifice young lives in order to live himself. He said that it must be done because the Chieftain protects Dorne with a circle of magic which is the only thing that keeps an ancient enemy of theirs from invading the island. Bern knelt over Sonia. He seized her hand and held it up and then pressed the point of his dagger into her index finger. The crowd cheered as the blood flowed. Bern dabbed at the wound on finger with his left hand, then rose, turned and smeared a line of blood on Anoltis' forehead. Anoltis began to mutter indistinguishable words under his breath. Deep in the chieftain's eyes spots of scarlet burned. Bern moved onto the rest of the prisoners and took a bit of blood from them one by one and smeared his master's forehead until he had gone through all seven prisoners. Each time the ritual was completed the chieftain muttered under his breath and seemed to kindle and sit a little more straight. When the last blood, Dirk's, had been taken and the ceremony was finished, Bern bowed low to Anoltis and returned to stand behind the throne. Anoltis' lips still moved as he muttered soundlessly, and his burning eyes were fixed on the horizon. The seven Gifters dragged the prisoners down the walkway and onto the rock where they were forced again to kneel in line, while the chains that bound their ankles were looped through the iron rings on the surface rock and locked. When the seven Gifters had completed their task they straightened up and gazed uneasily at the horizon. Suddenly the crowd shouted and pointed out to the sea where the sun was setting. A mass of glittering silver sea serpents had emerged from the ocean and was making their way to the shore. The Gifters lining the lower half of the walkway retreated retreated to higher ground. The prisoners screamed in terror and the Gifters turned and ran up the walkway to the viewing platform. The writhing mass of sea serpents were very near now. The beasts would reach the shore right after the next wave of water hit the land. The glittering silver head of a serpent burst through the churning water, twisting into the air in an explosion of spray. The serpent's teeth were sharp as needles. The serpent made a harsh hooting sound. The crowd suddenly roared when one of the prisoners, a curly-haired boy, was staggering to his feet. He had gotten free and lurched from the rock and up the walkway. There was a cry from above. Anoltis staggered from his failing serpent throne. Shrieking he ordered the Gifters to stop the boy and stun him. He cried that there must be seven sacrifices so that he can have his seven more years to live. Bern ran to the top of the walkway and shot the boy square in the chest with a yellow beam from his scorch. The boy dropped and rolled back down the ramp to the rock. Anoltis scolded the seven Gifters for not following his orders. He ordered them to bring the boy back to the boy and check if the rest of the prisoners were still secured. The Gifters hesitated and Anoltis threatened to kill them if they did not follow his orders. More of the prisoners had suddenly gotten free and were scrambling up the rock, using the walkway for cover. The only remaining prisoners were Faene and Dirk. Anoltis screeched in rage. A riot had suddenly erupted at the section of the metal fence that was closest to the flat rock. People were banging on the fence and shouting defiantly at Chieftain Anoltis. The fence bulged as the crowd tried to push through it. A wave of water then crashed onto the shore and drowned all sounds. The sea serpents would arrive with the next wave. Suddenly Faene had gotten free too. She climbed over the rock to the side facing the fortress and disappeared over the edge. Suddenly a young man appeared out of nowhere. It was Rye, who had pulled back his magic hood of concealment and was now visible. A wave of water crashed over the rock. The water pulled back and dragged Rye with him. Sonia, with one leg through Faene's iron ring to secure herself, were gripping Rye's wrist. Sonia had stayed to help Rye while the rest of the prisoners had escaped. She lay face-down on the rock now, gasping. She got up on her feet and pulled Rye up with her. A scream suddenly came from Sonia. Rye turned around and witnessed a sea serpents looming over them. It was gaping its jaws and drops of pale gold venom dripped from its fangs, into the water where it sizzled. It looked directly at Rye, in a striking position, but it was not moving, repelled by something. Rye slid a wooden stick from his belt and raised it high. He held his hand up too. The serpent suddenly recoiled. And then a blue-black sea serpent rose beside the silver one. The silver serpent hissed warningly, its eyes still fixed on Rye. The blue-black serpent drew back its head and froze. Many more sea serpents of the colors green, yellow, blue and black rose before Rye and froze, as if in a trance. The sun disappeared below the horizon. Then a howl sounded from the viewing platform. Then the metal fence got pushed over and fell and its flags got crushed into the sand. The crowd was towards the rock. Anoltis came staggering alone down the walkway to the rock. The seven Gifters lay on the platform behind him, their bodies twisted and burned. They had paid with their lives for their cowardice. Bern alone had survived, and was crouching behind his master's serpent throne with his scorch in hand, watching Anoltis stumble down on the rock. The crowd, seeing Anoltis with his burning eyes and outstretched, clutching hands, stopped short. Anoltis ordered the sea serpents to kill Sonia, Rye and Dirk. The silver serpent looked at Anoltis. The chieftain had reached the paralyzed body of the curly-haired boy, who lied half on and half off the rock, and kicked it. Anoltis again ordered the serpents to kill them. The chieftain greedily claimed that he must live. He ordered the serpents to take the three people on the rock. He questioned the serpents' loyalty to him, and then the silver serpent suddenly arched its body over the rock and caught Anoltis. The chieftain shrieked as his blood splattered down on the flat rock. Then the silver serpent's body flowed over the three people's heads and dived into the sea. Where Anoltis had stood were now a small scattering of silver scales. A figure in the crowd shouted a command and several fisher folk rolled dozens of foul-smelling barrels into the waters besides the rock. They roared in triumpuh. Cheering people, laughing and crying with joy, rushed through the ruined section of the metal fence. But suddenly Bern yelled for them to halt. The people stopped. Bern stepped from behind the rapidly decaying serpent throne. He then ordered the Gifters under his command to draw their weapons. The Gifters higher on the walkway laughed and pointed their scorches at the crowd. Bern sat down on the serpent throne and proclaimed that now that Anoltis was dead he would be their chieftain. The crowd was silently watching the serpent throne. When Anoltis died the magic that preserved the dead sea serpent had died with him. Only the crowd could see the head of the serpent were slowly and silently tilting downwards over Bern's head. Bern began to speak, but then the arching upper body of the serpent throne gave way and its head plunged down over Bern, burrowing two of its fangs into the back of his neck and killing the leader of the Gifters. Physical appearance Bern is described as having brown close-cropped hair and a shrewd, narrow face. He is described as often wearing a Gifter's uniform which consists of a black helmet that conceals all but one's eyes and mouth, black boots, black leggings, and a scarlet tunic embroidered in gold with Chieftain Anoltis' crest, a large "O" formed by a sea serpent swallowing its own tail. He also wears a belt that holds his scorch club. Personality Bern was a very arrogant and proud person. He took joy in displaying the power he had been given by his master, Chieftain Anoltis. Despite this he was very fearful of his master. Abilities Relationships Appearances ''The Three Doors'' *"The Golden Door" Trivia References See also *Anoltis *Gifting Category:Characters Category:Minor characters Category:Males Category:Antagonists Category:Gifters Category:Oltan citizens Category:People of Dorne Category:Deceased Category:The Three Doors